Some 12 years ago I confronted the (then) Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu after his speech in Helsinki concerning the supposed “right not to be offended.”
H/T: Andy Bostom
This was at a time when the OIC was still named The Organization of the Islamic Conference, now changed to “Organization of Islamic Cooperation”. This reflects what the OIC wants for the rest of the world, cooperation with Islam, that it achieves its long-stated goal of protecting Islam from any form of criticism, elevating it to an unquestionable status in Western society.
My question to Ihsanoglu at the time was:
In light of the US Congress resolution, Can OIC sec-Gen offer his own personal assurances that the O I C is not going to use the conference, to attack Israel, as well as focusing on global blasphemy, which “would legitimize arbitrary restrictions of freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and the freedoms of expression and opinion, all in the name of protecting religions from ‘defamation’ and ‘blasphemy.?
It is in part directed at the (then) recent US congressional resolution 1361:
“defeating the campaign by some members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to divert the United Nation’s Durban Review Conference from a review of problems in their own and other countries, by attacking Israel, promoting anti-Semitism, and undermining the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
The UNDHR is still trying to be subverted by the OIC, helped in part by smaller countries (like Finland and Sweden) with existing hate speech laws (defamation of religion/violating religious peace and incitement of an ethnic group). I say helped, due to such laws providing the sharia-supremacist OIC much-needed hope to eventually having these laws accepted on an international level. In effect, sharia law will be the law of the land throughout the globe.
I told the Sec-Gen at the time that:
“There is no such thing as the right to insult. Freedom of speech does in fact mean the right to insult. Regardless of how tasteless it may be, it is a crucial, integral part of freedom of speech, one simply can’t survive without the other.”
I still stand behind those words directed at Ihsanoglu, the OIC and the Finnish state.
OIC chief demands international law to criminalize Islamophobia
From left to right: Yousef Al-Dhobei, Dr. Al-Othaimeen, Dr. Saud Kateb and Tariq Bakhit. (Supplied)
JEDDAH: Muslim leaders on Thursday demanded the introduction of an international law to criminalize all acts of Islamophobia.
Announcing plans for the celebration of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) 50th anniversary in Jeddah on Monday, its secretary-general called for a global crackdown on individuals or groups responsible for “insulting religions or prophets.”
Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen told Arab News: “There are laws against anti-Semitism and racism. So, we request a law against mocking religions.”
In a report released by the OIC, he said that modernization and the Internet revolution had turned the world into a “global village” where religions and cultures should coexist, and races and nations must live side by side as neighbors.
“Islamophobia is a sentiment of excessive fear against Islam that is transformed into acts of intolerance and discriminations against Muslims and even violent crimes against people with Islamic attires.”
A press conference held at the Jeddah headquarters of the OIC, to reveal the organization’s anniversary plans, was attended by Al-Othaimeen along with the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ deputy minister for public diplomacy, Dr. Saud Kateb, assistant secretary-general for humanitarian, social and cultural affairs, Tariq Ali Bakhit, and the assistant secretary-general for political affairs, Yousef Al-Dhobei.
